Right of Publicity
& AI Likeness Protection

Right of publicity is a state law that lets you control the commercial use of your name, voice, image, signature, and persona. About half of US states recognize it. California codifies it at Civil Code Section 3344 with a $750 statutory floor plus actual damages, profits, and attorney's fees. New York codifies it at Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51. The exact protections, damages, and exceptions vary state by state, which is why the same incident gets different remedies depending on where it lands.

It can be both. Right of publicity protects you, the person; trademark law protects your brand identity. Most AI cloning incidents have a claim under each. This page handles the right-of-publicity side: your voice, face, name, signature, and persona as personal rights. The federal trademark layer for sound marks, signature images, and Lanham Act § 43(a) false-endorsement claims runs through AI Brand Infringement & Deepfake Defense. If the incident touches a contract you signed with an agent, manager, or talent agency, the carve-out side runs through Talent, Management & Agency Agreements. The strategy call decides which lever you pull first.

Yes, in most US states. California, New York, Tennessee, and others protect your voice as part of the right of publicity. Federal protection is pending. California Civil Code 3344 added "voice" to its statutory protections in 1995. Tennessee's ELVIS Act (2024) specifically addresses AI voice cloning of music performers. The federal NO FAKES Act is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee and would create a federal property right in your voice and visual likeness. Until federal legislation passes, the protection runs through state right-of-publicity law plus federal Lanham Act false-endorsement claims when the cloned voice is used to imply your endorsement of a product.

Preserve evidence first, then move on takedowns. Full screenshots, the URL, the platform timestamp, and any metadata available before the post is removed. Deepfakes typically replicate across three or more platforms within hours of going live. Identify every platform hosting the content. Retain counsel before sending any direct communication to the creator, since informal takedown requests can compromise the chain of custody and weaken later enforcement. Then file attorney-drafted DMCA takedowns where copyright applies, platform-specific impersonation reports on Meta, X, TikTok, and YouTube, and a right-of-publicity demand letter to the underlying creator account. Sequencing those steps is what the strategy call exists to set.

Right of publicity is an inherent personal right protecting your voice, face, name, and persona. Trademark is a registered federal IP right protecting brand identifiers used in commerce. Right of publicity exists by state law without registration and protects you personally even if you have never used your name commercially. Trademark requires registration with the USPTO and use in commerce to function as a brand. A complete protection stack uses both: trademark for federal court access through Lanham Act § 43(a), and right of publicity for unregistered identity elements like your face or unrecorded voice. Matthew McConaughey's 2024 federal sound-mark registration of "Alright, alright, alright" is a recent example of using both layers together.

In California, the floor is $750 statutory damages, plus actual damages, plus the infringer's profits, plus attorney's fees and costs. Punitive damages are also available. California Civil Code Section 3344 sets the framework. Common-law right of publicity in California provides additional remedies that overlap with the statutory cause of action. Other states vary widely. New York's right of publicity, codified at Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51, has a one-year statute of limitations and primarily provides emotional distress and exemplary damages. Recovering damages depends on documenting the unauthorized use, identifying the infringer, and timing the action under the applicable state's statute of limitations.

It depends on the state. California protects it for 70 years after death. New York does not recognize a posthumous right of publicity at all. California Civil Code Section 3344.1 gives heirs and estates a 70-year posthumous right of publicity, transferable by contract or descent. Tennessee, Indiana, and Florida also recognize posthumous rights with varying terms. New York's law does not survive death, though New York's 2026 AI consent legislation now requires consent from heirs or executors for posthumous AI use in advertising. For estate planning where a creator's heirs may inherit valuable identity rights, the choice of domicile and the structure of any rights-licensing trust matters significantly.

Yes, if you have a recognizable signature element. A federal trademark gives you Lanham Act access to federal court regardless of which state's right-of-publicity laws apply. Sound marks have been registered with the USPTO since the 1940s. A distinctive recording of your voice or a signature catchphrase can qualify if it identifies the source of your goods or services. McConaughey's "Alright, alright, alright" sound mark and his service marks on signature video clips are the canonical recent example. The trademark layer is most valuable when your voice or persona is already commercially associated with a product line, course, brand, or content franchise. The federal trademark filing strategy itself is handled through AI Brand Infringement & Deepfake Defense where it sits inside a federal-enforcement architecture.

It depends on the deepfake. Non-consensual intimate deepfakes are criminal at both state and federal levels. Most other AI deepfakes trigger civil claims, not criminal liability. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act makes non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI deepfakes, a federal crime and requires platforms to remove reported content within 48 hours. California Penal Code 647(j)(4) and Civil Code 1708.86 (with civil penalties recently raised by AB 621) cover similar ground at state level. Election-related deepfakes are subject to disclosure and removal requirements in California (AB 730) and other states. Non-sexual, non-election deepfakes are not categorically illegal but are typically actionable through right of publicity, defamation, false light, and Lanham Act false-endorsement claims.

It is contested. Pure training data use without commercial output is currently treated as fair use by most AI companies, but commercial output that mimics you is actionable. The US Copyright Office's Part 1 Digital Replicas Report addresses the legal patchwork and recommends federal digital-replica legislation. Until that legislation passes, your remedies focus on commercial output that uses your likeness rather than the training input itself. AI training datasets that explicitly identify and reproduce your voice or face for commercial use cross the right-of-publicity line. The proactive defense is consent language in any agreement that gives a counterparty access to your audio, video, or image content. Locking down license-vs-assignment, scope, and AI-use carve-outs at contract time prevents the dispute from arising.